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The minimum wage will increase in Poland next year as the country struggles with inflation and a difficult economic situation caused by Russia’s war on Ukraine, officials have confirmed.
From January 2023, the minimum wage will go up to PLN 3,490 (EUR 743) from PLN 3,010 (EUR 640), followed by another hike to PLN 3,600 (EUR 766) from July 1, 2023.
At the same time, the minimum hourly rate will be raised from the current PLN 19.60 (EUR 4.17) to PLN 22.80 (EUR 4.85) effective January 1 and PLN 23.50 (EUR 5.00) as of July 1.
After the government approved in September a minimum wage increase in a bolder move than the hikes proposed in a previous draft regulation. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that the government wants “the Polish economy to flourish and to cope as well as possible in these difficult circumstances of Covid, the (Russia-Ukraine – ed.) war and ‘putinflation’ (inflation caused by Russian President Vladimir Putin – ed).
Main reason – inflation
Family and Social Policy Minister Marlena Maląg said of the government’s rationale behind the decision for “such a significant increase… is that it is necessary to protect the poorer strata of society from… the disproportionately inflated cost of the difficult economic situation… caused by Russia’s war on neighbouring Ukraine.”
According to the Family and Social Policy Ministry’s estimates, Poland’s minimum wage will rise by 19.6 per cent after the second increase in July.
The government is legally obliged to raise the minimum wage twice a year if the annual average inflation in the previous year exceeds 5 per cent. The latest inflation reading for November 2022 is a 17.5 per cent increase in prices of goods and services compared to the same month of 2021.
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